Improvement in ice - machines



4 .Sheets-Sheet 1. F. WINDH'AUSEN.

1 Ice-Machine. g 1 1,1 Patented Mar. 22, 1870.

F. W1NDHAUSEN.

Ice-Machine.

4 Sheets -Sheet 2.

No. 101,198. Patented Mar. 22, 1870.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

FRANZ VVINDIIAUSEN, OF BRUNSWICK, GERMANY.

IMPROVEMENT IN ICE-MACHINES.

Specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. 101,198, dated March 22,1870.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANZ WINDHAUSEN,

- of the city of Brunswick, Germany, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Machines for Making Ice, which are alsoapplicable to other freezing and cooling operations; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the ac companying drawings.

This invention relates to that class of freezing and icemaking machinesin which atmospheric air is compressed, then passed through a cooler,and afterward expanded again to remove the heat, or, in other words, toproduce cold, but which machines have hitherto been limited in theircold-producing properties by the degree of expansion to which the air issubjected and by the temperature of the coolingwater employed.

The invention has for its object the construction of a machine of smallcompass which, with one constant degree of expansion of the airemployed, produces any requisite degree of cold, and which degree ofcold can be regulated to the greatest nicety by the hand of theattendant, by means of graduated adjustingvalve mechanism.

For the purposes of my invention, I employ a single double-actingcylinder, being capable of compressing the air in the chamber formed onone side of the piston, and of expanding it in the chamber formedon theother side, or, when two cylinders are employed, one is used forcompressing the air and the other for expanding it afterward. The air isat first admitted into the compressing chamber, and thence, forthepurpose of being cooled, passes into a cooler, which forms a materialpart of the invention, and which is composed of two distinctcompartments, one of which'iscooled by air and the other by a constantflow of cold water. From this cooler it passes into theexpansiouchamber, in which it is expanded and cooled, and whence itescapes through a temperature-regulator of peculiar construction intothe refrigerator in which the vessels are situated which contain theliquid to be frozen; or pipes are arranged through which air, gases, orvapors may pass for the purpose of being cooled. By means of thetemperature regulator above mentioned, a portion of the air proceedingfrom the expansionchamber may be admitted into the cooler beforementioned, for the purpose of cooling one compartment thereof; and whenthe cold air admitted into the refrigerator has become heated to such a"degree as to be of no further service there, but is still at a lowtempera ture, it passes through this compartment of the cooler for thesame purpose on its way to the compressing-chamber, anrLmay, previouslyto entering thecompressingchamber, be made to pass through one or morepipes surrounded by the running stream of cooling-water, which afterwardpasses through the other compartment of the cooler, and thus m ay haveacooling effect upon such water. Having thus circulated through themachine, the sa-me air is again admitted into the compressing chamber,and the whole operation is repeated, thus keeping up a continuouscirculation through the machine. The cylinders are fitted with inductionand eduetion valves worked by eccentrics, or tappets, on thecrank-shaft, which latter is connected with the piston, so as to beworked either by power or by hand.

In order to maintain an equal pressure of air in the refrigerator andcondenser, a pressure regulator, in the form of a balloon, made of"ulcanized india-rubber, or other suitable elastic material, is incommunication with the interior of the refrigerator, which regulatorstretches out when the pressure in the refrigerator is greater than thatof the atmosphere, and is contracted as soon as the pressure in therefrigerator is less than that of the atmosphere. The refrigerator isfurther provided with a valve opening inward, which is acted upon by theatmosphere, and supplies any loss of air in the machine.

, In order that'niy invention maybe more readily understood, 1 havehereunto annexed a drawing of an ice-making or freezing machine, havingonly'one double-acting cylinder in which the expansion of the airemployed takes place.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine, and Fig. 2 a plan of thesame with the refrigerator removed, in order to show the cylinder andarrangement of pipes moreclearly. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal verticalsection of the machine through the line shown on Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 isaback view seen in section along the line a: or, marked on Fig. 3.

Similar letters are used to denote similar parts in all the views.

A is the double-acting cylinder, and B the piston of the same, which, bymeans of the forked connecting-rod O, is connected to the crank D of thedriving-shaft, which carries the fly-wheel and revolves in one 'of itsbearings on the pedestal E, which pedestal and the cylinder are situatedand screwed upon the cooler F. The cooler F consists of a rectangularinclosed chamber, containing a series of parallel pipes, moreparticularly described hereafter. Situated on the top of the cylinder A,and partly supported by a pillar, G, is a fixed refrigerator, H. This isa rectangular double-cased chamber in which are suspended the cases Hand H which contain the liquid or other medium to be cooled. All theinternal parts of the machine communicate with each other by the pipes Jand J 2 and valves L, M, N, and O.

The cylinder A is fitted with covers A and A each of which covers isformed hollow and divided, as shown, by a partition into twocompartments, the compartments of the cover A being marked a and b, andthose of the cover A being marked a and I). These compartmentscommunicate with the interior of the cylinder at its respective ends bypassages fitted with valves, L being the outlet-valve and M theinlet-valve appertaining to the compartments a and b, and 0 being theinlet-valve and N the outlet-valve appertaining to the compartments aand 11 The front part 3 of the cylinder in which the compression takesplace is surrounded, as shown in Fig. 3, by a jacket, W, containingwater to cool it, and the back part, 1, or other end of the cylinder inwhich the expansion takes place is enveloped in a non-conductor of heat,Q, by preference composed of sawdust or loose cotton, in order toprevent it as much as possible from being heated from the outside.

0 is an annular passage or space surrounding the cylinder, andseparating thefront from the back part of the cylinder, in order to prevent the heat being carried from the front to the back. This space 0serves at the same time as a receptacle for the grease to lubricate thepiston.

The piston B is nearly thick as the whole length of the stroke ofthe-crank D, and is constructed of two disk plates, B and B affixed tothe piston-rod, and each of which plates is fitted with the ordinarycupped leathers. The

intermediate space between such plates is filled with anon-conductor ofheat, by preference loose cotton, and surrounded on the outside by awooden casin g, B for preventing the heat traveling from the front tothe back part of the cylinder. The piston-rod passes through a vstuffing-box and is guided through a bush fitted in the pillar Gr.

t The actuating mechanism of the valves N and 0 consists of a cam or'tappet-wheel, S, keyed upon the driving-shaft, which alternatelystrikes the friction or tappet rollers S mountedin a yoke upon the rodS, according to the expansion in the back part of the cylinder. The rodS is connected to the forked lever S, the ends of which lever actuatethe spindles of the valves 0 and N, as illustrated, in such a mannerthat the valve 0 allows the compressed air to enter the back part of thecylinder for a portion of theforward stroke of the piston, until thevalve 0 closes, when the expansion takes place for the remaining portionof the stroke. Duringthe back stroke of the piston, the valve N isarranged to remain open by the disposition of the cams or tappetwheels Supon the driving-shaft. The valves L and M, in the cylinder-cover A areselfacting like ordinary pump-valves.

The cooler consists of a hollow inclosed box or chamber,which at thesame time constitutes the foundation or bed-plate upon which thecylinder A, pedestal E, and refrigerator H are fixed. Its interior isdivided by the 7 space c into two compartments, w and b hermeticallyclosed. In each of these compartments a series of parallel pipes, F andF are fixed, being secured in the ends F The interiors of these pipesare in communication with each other through the space ai and with thespace a of the front cylinder-coverthrough the pipe J and with the spacea of the back cylinder-cover, through the pipe J. The space wsurrounding the outside of the first series of parallel pipes isentirely filled with a running stream of water, which flows away throughthe pipeW the fresh supply being kept up by means of any ordinary pump,which supply enters by the pipe W, and

passes through the jacket w, surrounding the front part of the cylinderbefore it enters the space w through the pipe W". In order to keep thiswater in direct contact with the out side of all the cooling-pipes, themetal plates F are fixed in the compartment 10, so as to compel thewater to pass by or in contact with the outside of every single pipe;and by this means the water is caused to pass through in an oppositedirection to the current of air which passes through the interior ofsuchpipes, and thus cools the air passing through "them to the lowestdegree, with the smallest quantity ot'-coo1in g-water. The otherdivision lor compartment of the cooler, marked 11 is jsimilar tothatjust described,with this difler ience, that the pipes in thiscompartment are surrounded by a current of cold air instead of water;this cold air enters through the pipe J direct from the compartment b ofthe back cylinder-cover, and also from the refrigerator B, through thepipe J and proceeds in the direction of the arrows, through the pipe J",

to the compartment 1) of the front cylinder cover, whence it is drawnthrough the inletvalve M, by means of the piston, into the front part ofthe cylinder, to be again compressed at the return stroke of the piston,and afterward driven into the cooling-pipes through the outlet-valve Land pipe J This refrigerator has already been described as being fixedupon the cylinder and pillar G,

and consisting of a double-cased rectangular to be frozen, are placed 5and, in order to effect an immediate contact between the two, theformer, El are previously partly filled with fluid which does notreadily freeze, such as alcohol; or at a higher temperature a solutionof chloride of lime might be used. The cases H might be employedthemselves for freezing purposes, by filling them direct with the fluidto be frozen, as such cases are loose] y inserted in the openings formedin the cover to receive them, and are packed under their top flangeswith india-rubber, felt, or other similar material. To insure a completespreading of the current of airover the whole outer surface of the casesH the zigzag wooden partitions H are fixed inside the refrigerator,between each of the metal cases, by which means a zigzag course is givento the current corresponding with the direction of the arrows shown. Inthe refrigerator, the cold air expanded to atmospheric pressure entersthrough the pipe J., ,,and in. passing through imparts its cold to thechests H and in a corresponding degree becomes heated itself, andfinally escaping through the pipe .1 into the cooler F. In order tomaintain a constant pressure inside of the refrigerator, its interiorcommunicates through the pipe Ywith anelastic ball or balloon, Z, bypreference formed of vulcanized india-rubber,-which immediately becomesdis tended when the pressure is greater in the refrigerator than that ofthe atmosphere, and

vice versa. Any loss of air inside the refrigerator caused by leakage ofany of the parts is compensated for by means of the valve It, whichopens inward by atmospheric pressure whenever the pressure inside therefrigerator is less than that of the atmosphere, thus allowing thedeficiency to be made up; but before arriving inside the refrigeratorsuch supply on its way may pass through chloride of lime supported in aperforated tin box which may be arranged immediately below-the valve .R.

The refrigerator constructed as described is designed specially forfreezing liquids; but for cooling air or gases, or condensing vapors,straight or curved pipes may be fixed in S1101] refrigerator in the samemanner as the pipes described in the cooler F, which pipes aresurrounded with the current of cold air coming from the machinethrough'the pipe J Through the straight or curved pipes the air, gases,or vapors to be cooled are conveyed in an opposite direction to thecurrent of air passing outside of them; and in case the machine isrequired to cool and ventilate apartments, such as cellars, ship-holds,hospitals, theaters, and other places, the cold air is conveyed from thetube J which may be lengthened for the purpose, directly into suchplaces, while fresh air is constantly supplied to the machine through apipe in connection with the pipe J*, to be thereby cooled and thenforced into such places.

I will now proceed to describe the temperature-regulator. I have alreadydescribed the particular manner in which the expanded air passes out ofthe back part of the cylinder from the compartment b through the pipe Jinto the cooler, and through the pipe J into the refrigerator. It now,therefore, only remains to be shown more particularly how the cold airis divided so -as to pass in the-proper quantities through each of thepipes J and J For this purpose the pipes J 2 and J each open into acylindrical compartment J, which is fitted with a segmental valve, P,(see Fig. 1,) having the character of a three-way cock. This valve turnswith a hand-lever, so that either of the mouths of the pipes J and J maybe partially or entirely closed at pleasure by the hand of theattendant, and the exact relative sizes of such openings is indicated byan index forming part ofthe hand-lever, upon a dial-plate. Suppose thevalve 1- to be in such a position as that the mouths of the pipes J andJ 5 shall .be to each other as I is to n, then aproportionate part ofthe expanded air is used for cooling the-contents of the refrigerator,and n-l parts are used for the first cooling of the compressed air. Asimple calcula tion then shows that the compressed air is constantlybeing cooled to a lower temperature, and becoming in a correspondingmanner cooler by the process of expansion until it reaches thetheoretical limit of 02-1 times as many degrees cooler, less itsabsorption of heat in the refrigerator every time it makes the circuit,according to the mechanical theory of heat. This minimum degree of heat,however, can only be effected under the supposition that the heat of thecompressed air produced by the compression is entirely absorbed by thecooling-water in the cooler, and that of the heating of the air in themachine through the friction of piston, the friction of the air inpassing through the pipes, and the heat de' rived from without.

The operation of the various parts of the machine having been separatelydescribed, I will now describe the course of the air in it's circulationthrough the machine. During the forward stroke of the piston-that is tosay, its movement toward the front cylinder-cover A the air iscompressed in the compressingchamber 3, and by its pressure caused toopen the valve L, and pass out through the compartment a of the cover,and through the pipe J to the cooler, in which it passes first throughthe pipes F and afterward through the pipes F and is thereby cooled.From the cooler the compressed air passes through the pipe J intothecompartment a of the back cylindercover A whence it passes throughthe valve 0 into the expansion-chamber 1, of the cylinder during aportion of the stroke, and until thevalve O is closed, after which theair in the latter chamber expands during the rea portion of it passesthrough the pipe J to the refrigerator, and a portion through the pipe Jinto the space surrounding the pipe F in the compartment I) of thecooler. same time the air displaced from the refrigerator by theincoming cold' air passes out through the pipe J into the aforesaidspace of the cooler. The air all passes out from this space of thecooler through the pipe J into the compartment b of the frontcylinder-cover, whence it is drawn by the piston through the inletvalveM into the compression-chamber of the cylinder. v

It will be readily apparent that instead of the compression andexpansion of the air takingplace in one and the same'cylinder, as in themachine represented, the expansion and compression may take place in twoseparate cylinders, and that the cooler and refrigerator may be erectedat same distance from the other parts of the machine, provided that thepipes are arranged in the manner hereinbefore described. The cylinder orcylinders may also be placed in an oblique and vertical instead of ahorizontal position, as illustrated,

.quired, the air passing round the'outsides of the pipes in the coolermay be dispensed with and water be employed instead; or even atmosphericair may be used in place of the water, but passing round the outside ofthe pipes in the cooler in precisely the same manner as thewater, theair thus heated being useful for other purposes.

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. The process herein described for increasing the intensity of coldproduced, the same consisting in returning a part ofthecompressed airafter expansion, so as to cool the air still under compression, as setforth.

2. The combination of the cooler and the temperature-regulator tooperate substantially as herein described. At the i 3. The double-actingcylinder jacketed and having its covers or heads divided in compartmentsfitted with valves organized and operating as herein specified.

' 4. The serrated dividing-plates between the cells of the refrigerator,whereby the current of air is impeded and caused to impinge on the sidesof said cells, as shown.

5. The elastic balloon Z, for maintaining one constant pressure in therefrigerator and cooler, as herein described.

6. The valve R opening inward, and acted upon by the atmosphere forsupplying anydeficiency of air, in the manner described.

7. The employment of a current of air for cooling the pipes in thecooler, substantially as herein specified.

FR. WINDHAUSEN.

Witnesses PETER BARTHEL, AUGUST SCHNEIDER.

